Lori L. Lake

{{Infobox writer

| image = Oct2018-atPowells-med.jpg

| name = Lori L. Lake

| caption = Lake in 2018

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|2|9}}

| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S.

| genre = Fiction, Memoir, Short Story, Creative Writing, Nonfiction

| movement = LGBTQ+ stories, human rights

| website = {{url|www.lorillake.com}}| alma_mater = {{ubl|Lewis & Clark College|Hamline University}}

| awards = Alice B Readers Award, Golden Crown Literary Society, Rainbow Awards

}}

Lori L. Lake (born February 9, 1960) is an American writer of fiction, mainly about lesbian protagonists. She is also an editor, writing instructor, and former publisher.

Personal life

Lake was born in Portland, Oregon, the oldest of five daughters, and spent her early years with her family in Seattle and Portland, then lived with an aunt and uncle in Tigard, Oregon, during her teen years and graduated from Tigard High School in 1978.{{cite web|author=Kathy Eaton|url=https://star-news.info/2013/12/01/author-lori-lake-remembers-her-northeast-portland-roots|title=Author Lori Lake Remembers Her Portland Roots|publisher=Star News|date=1 December 2013|access-date=25 March 2021}} She graduated from Portland's Lewis and Clark College in 1983 with a double major in English and Political Science and moved to the Twin Cities with her partner shortly after. She attended Saint Paul's Hamline University where she studied with Carol Bly and in 1989 received a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on Literature and Ethics. After working in Saint Paul in county government for nearly two decades, she quit in 2003 to work on writing and teaching. In 2009 Lake returned to her hometown in Oregon after a breakup with her partner of 27 years.{{cite web|author=Lori L. Lake|url=http://www.lorillake.com/bio.html|title=Lori L. Lake Biographical Information|publisher=LoriLLake.com|access-date=31 May 2008}}

Writing career

Her work includes The Gun Series police novels, The Public Eye Mystery Series, four standalone drama/romances, two short story collections, the Lambda Literary finalist anthology The Milk of Human Kindness, and the World War II novel Snow Moon Rising, which won the 2007 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award, a Goldie from the Golden Crown Literary Society, and The Alice B Readers Award.{{cite web|author=Alice B Administrator|url=http://www.alicebawards.org/pastbios.html|title=Alice B Awards ~ 2007 Winners|access-date=25 March 2021}} In concert with fellow writer/editor Jessie Chandler, Lake also won a 2016 Golden Crown Literary Award for the anthology Lesbians on the Loose: Crime Writers on the Lam.{{cite web|author=Awards Administrator|url=https://www.goldencrown.org/general/custom.asp?page=2016GoldieWinners|title=2016 Goldie Awards|access-date=25 March 2021}}

In recent years, Lake has become a mentor and coach to many young and aspiring writers, especially through her work at The Loft Literary Center,{{cite web|author=Elisa Rolle|url=https://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4189823.html|title=Reviews & Ramblings: Lori L. Lake|access-date=25 March 2021}} the Portland Lesbian Writers Group,{{cite web|author=Portland Lesbian Writers Group|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/620015055125277|title=Facebook Home of the Portland Lesbian Writers Group|website=Facebook |access-date=25 March 2021}} and the Oregon Writers Colony,{{cite web|author=Marlene Howard|url=https://oregonwriterscolony.org/about-oregon-writers-colony/board-of-directors|title=Board of Directors|access-date=25 March 2021}} and in her work as an organizer of writing retreats or as program director of literary conferences, particularly for the Golden Crown Literary Society{{cite web|author=GCLS Webmaster|url=https://www.goldencrown.org/page/DirectorsAwardWinner|title=Directors' Award Winners|access-date=25 March 2021}} from which she received the Directors' Award in 2012 for her co-founding the organization and coordinating conferences and events from 2004 to 2012. Lake also commenced publishing the work of others in 2014 upon opening Launch Point Press{{cite web|author=Bella Books Webmaster|url=https://www.bellabooks.com/category/publisher-launch-point-press|title=Launch Point Press Books|access-date=25 March 2021}} in Portland, Oregon. Citing time constraints, Lake sold Launch Point Press to new owners who assumed ownership in January, 2023, leaving Lake time to write once more.{{cite web|author=Launch Point Press|url=https://www.facebook.com/LaunchPointPress|title=Facebook Home of Launch Point Press|website=Facebook|access-date=27 December 2022}}

In 2023, Lake collaborated in creating a new nonprofit lesbian literary organization called Opus Literary Alliance for which she is currently on the Board serving as the Co-Director of Education & Programming with Kim Dyke.{{cite web|author=Opus Literary Alliance|url=https://opusliteraryalliance.org/board|title=OLA Board of Directors|website=Opus Literary Alliance|access-date=6 April 2024}} Lake is also a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Oregon Writers Colony, Portland Lesbian Writers Group, Willamette Writers, and the Golden Crown Literary Society, and she serves as administrator for The Alice B Readers Award.